Wire and cable for installation in residences and buildings typically comes on cable reels. The types of wire and cable include many different kinds of low-voltage, multiconductor insulated communications cable that are used for setting up Ethernet networks, intercom systems, entertainment systems, and the connection of fire and security sensors and devices. A new building under construction will need many kinds of these cables, and several reels of cable will be used by an installer on-site.
One known technique for distributing cables is to provide one or more coils of cable in a box or carton and to create a hole in a front and/or top panel of the (typically cardboard) carton for pulling out a desired length of cable. This conventional method has the disadvantage that the cable may kink inside of the carton or otherwise resist being pulled out of the carton as it is removed from the carton. As a result, the cable installer or technician can find that he or she is pulling the carton across the floor instead of receiving the necessary length of cable. The assignee of the present invention has developed a reel-containing carton described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2008/0191436 A1, the specification and drawings of which are specifically incorporated by reference herein, which ameliorates some of these problems.
Cartons or reels of cable are often heavy and awkward to move around the job site, which fatigues the installer and leaves him or her susceptible to work-related injury. Existing wire and cable reel holders represent a first-pass attempt to alleviate this problem, but they usually have large, bulky frames and several rigid cross members and represent a one-size-fits-all approach. They are not designed to accommodate the reels of differing sizes and widths which frequently accompany the various cables that are used a given cable pull. As a result, a need exists for a customizable wire and cable transporter that can accommodate different combinations of reels that have different sizes without the need for moving around a large, bulky rack.